United Nations:
U.S. State Department Profile

Profile

Established: By charter signed in San Francisco,
California, on June 26, 1945, effective October 24, 1945. Purposes: To maintain international peace and security;
to achieve international cooperation in solving economic, social, cultural,
and humanitarian problems and in promoting respect for human rights
and fundamental freedoms; to be a center for harmonizing the actions
of nations in attaining these common ends. Principal organs: Security Council, General Assembly,
Economic and Social Council, International Court of Justice, Secretariat
and Trusteeship Council. Official languages: Arabic, Chinese, English, French,
Russian, and Spanish. Members: 191

Principal Organs

Security Council

Membership: Five permanent members (China, France,
Russia, U.K., U.S.), each with the right to veto, and 10 non-permanent
members elected by the General Assembly for two-year terms. Five non-permanent
members are elected from Africa and Asia combined; one from Eastern
Europe; two from Latin America; and two from Western Europe and other
areas. The 2002 non-permanent members are: Bulgaria, Cameroon, Colombia,
Guinea, Ireland, Mauritius, Mexico, Norway, Singapore, and Syria. President: Rotates monthly in English alphabetical
order of members.

Under the UN Charter, the Security Council has "primary
responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security,"
and all UN members "agree to accept and carry out the decisions of the
Security Council in accordance with the present Charter." Other organs
of the UN make recommendations to member governments. The Security Council,
however, has the power to make decisions that member governments must
carry out under the Charter. A representative of each Security Council
member must always be present at UN headquarters so that the Council
can meet at any time.

Decisions in the 15-member Security Council on all
substantive matters-for example, a decision calling for direct measures
related to the settlement of a dispute-require the affirmative votes
of nine members, including the support of all five permanent members.
A negative vote-a veto-by a permanent member prevents adoption of a
proposal that has received the required number of affirmative votes.
Abstention is not regarded as a veto.

A state that is a member of the UN, but not of the
Security Council, may participate in Security Council discussions in
which the Council agrees that the country's interests are particularly
affected. In recent years, the Council has interpreted this loosely,
enabling many countries to take part in its discussions. Non-members
routinely are invited to take part when they are parties to disputes
being considered by the Council.

Under Chapter Six of the Charter, "Pacific Settlement
of Disputes," the Security Council "may investigate any dispute, or
any situation which might lead to international friction or give rise
to a dispute." The Council may "recommend appropriate procedures or
methods of adjustment" if it determines that the situation might endanger
international peace and security. These recommendations are not binding
on UN members.

Under Chapter Seven, the Council has broader power
to decide what measures are to be taken in situations involving "threats
to the peace, breaches of the peace, or acts of aggression." In such
situations, the Council is not limited to recommendations but may take
action, including the use of armed force "to maintain or restore international
peace and security." This was the basis for UN armed action in Korea
in 1950 and the use of coalition forces in Iraq and Kuwait in 1991.
Decisions taken under Chapter Seven, such as economic sanctions, are
binding on UN members.

General Assembly

Membership: All UN members.President: Elected at the beginning of each General
Assembly session.Main Committees: First (Political and Security); Second
(Economic and Financial);Third (Social, Humanitarian, and Cultural);Fourth
(Special Political and Decolonization); Fifth (Administrative and Budgetary);Sixth
(Legal). Many other committees address specific issues, including peacekeeping,
outer space, crime prevention, status of women, and UN Charter reform.

The General Assembly is made up of all 191 UN members.
The Assembly meets in regular session once a year under a president
elected from among the representatives. The regular session usually
begins on the third Tuesday in September and ends in mid-December. Special
sessions can be convened at the request of the Security Council, of
a majority of UN members, or, if the majority concurs, of a single member.
A special session was held in October 1995 at the head of government
level to commemorate the UN's 50th anniversary.

Voting in the General Assembly on important questions-recommendations
on peace and security; election of members to organs; admission, suspension,
and expulsion of members; budgetary matters-is by a two-thirds majority
of those present and voting. Other questions are decided by majority
vote. Each member country has one vote. Apart from approval of budgetary
matters, including adoption of a scale of assessment, Assembly resolutions
are not binding on the members. The Assembly may make recommendations
on any matters within the scope of the UN, except matters of peace and
security under Security Council consideration.

As the only UN organ in which all members are represented,
the Assembly serves as a forum for members to launch initiatives on
international questions of peace, economic progress, and human rights.
It can initiate studies; make recommendations; develop and codify international
law; promote human rights; and further international economic, social,
cultural, and educational programs.

The Assembly may take action on maintaining international
peace if the Security Council is unable, usually due to disagreement
among the permanent members, to exercise its primary responsibility.
The "Uniting for Peace" resolutions, adopted in 1950, empower the Assembly
to convene in emergency special session to recommend collective measures-including
the use of armed force-in the case of a breach of the peace or act of
aggression. Two-thirds of the members must approve any such recommendation.
Emergency special sessions under this procedure have been held on nine
occasions. The most recent, in 1982, considered the situation in the
occupied Arab territories following Israel's unilateral extension of
its laws, jurisdiction, and administration to the Golan Heights.

During the 1980s, the Assembly became a forum for the
North-South dialogue-the discussion of issues between industrialized
nations and developing countries. These issues came to the fore because
of the phenomenal growth and changing makeup of the UN membership. In
1945, the UN had 51 members. It now has 191, of which more than two-thirds
are developing countries. Because of their numbers, developing countries
are often able to determine the agenda of the Assembly, the character
of its debates, and the nature of its decisions. For many developing
countries, the UN is the source of much of their diplomatic influence
and the principal outlet for their foreign relations initiatives.

Economic and Social Council

Membership: 54; 18 elected each year by the
General Assembly for three-year terms. The U.S. has always been a member. President: Elected each year.

The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) assists the
General Assembly in promoting international economic and social cooperation
and development. ECOSOC has 54 members, 18 of whom are elected each
year by the General Assembly for a three-year term. The U.S. has been
a member since the UN was founded. ECOSOC meets once a year. The president
is elected for a one-year term. Voting is by simple majority.

Through much of its history, ECOSOC has served primarily
as a discussion vehicle for economic and social issues. ECOSOC had little
authority to force action and a number of member states were concerned
that its utility was only marginal. However, beginning in 1992, the
U.S. and other nations began an effort to make ECOSOC more relevant
by strengthening its policy responsibilities in economic, social, and
related fields, particularly in furthering development objectives.

The resulting reform made ECOSOC the oversight and
policy-setting body for UN operational development activities and established
smaller executive boards for the UN Development Program (UNDP), UN Population
Fund (UNFPA), and UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) that would provide those
agencies with operating guidance and promote more effective management.
The reform also gave ECOSOC a strong hand in ensuring that UN agencies
coordinated their work on issues of common interest, such as narcotics
control, human rights, the alleviation of poverty, and the prevention
of HIV/AIDS.

One positive impact of this reform was the manner in
which the UN development system began to respond more coherently and
efficiently to humanitarian crises around the world. Secretary-General
Annan's recent reform initiatives have attached considerable importance
to further strengthening coordination among relief agencies.

Another example was the ECOSOC decision in 1994 to
authorize the creation of a new joint and cosponsored UN program on
HIV/AIDS. This program will bring together the existing AIDS-related
resources and expertise of the World Health Organization, UNICEF, UNDP,
UNFPA, UNESCO, and the World Bank into one consolidated global program,
eliminating duplication of effort and enhancing the ability of member
states to cope with the AIDS pandemic. It began operating in January
1996.

International Court of Justice

Membership: 15, elected for nine-year terms
by the General Assembly and the Security Council from nominees of national
groups under provisions of the International Court of Justice Statute.
A U.S. citizen has always been a member of the Court.

The International Court of Justice is the principal
judicial organ of the UN. Established in 1945, its main functions are
to decide cases submitted to it by states and to give advisory opinions
on legal questions submitted to it by the General Assembly or Security
Council, or by such specialized agencies as may be authorized to do
so by the General Assembly in accordance with the UN Charter.

The seat of the Court is in The Hague, Netherlands.
It is composed of 15 judges elected by the General Assembly and the
Security Council from a list of persons nominated by the national groups
in the Permanent Court of Arbitration. Judges serve for nine years and
may be re-elected. No two may be nationals of the same country. One-third
of the Court is elected every three years. Questions before the Court
are decided by a majority of judges present.

Only states may be parties in cases before the International
Court of Justice. This does not preclude private interests from being
the subject of proceedings if one state brings the case against another.
While jurisdiction of the Court is based on the consent of the parties,
any judgments reached are binding. The Security Council can be called
upon by a party to determine measures to be taken to enforce a judgment
if the other party fails to perform its obligations. The U.S. accepted
the Court's compulsory jurisdiction in 1946 but withdrew its acceptance
following the Court's decision in a 1986 case involving activities in
Nicaragua. Examples of cases include:

A complaint by the U.S. in 1980 that Iran was detaining American
diplomats in Tehran in violation of international law;

A dispute between Tunisia and Libya over the delimitation of the
continental shelf between them;

A dispute over the course of the maritime boundary dividing the
U.S. and Canada in the Gulf of Maine area.

Secretariat

Chief Administrative Officer: Secretary-General
of the United Nations, appointed to a five-year term by the General
Assembly on the recommendation of the Security Council. Secretary-General: Kofi Annan (first term began January
1, 1997; reappointed to second term, beginning January 1, 2002). Staff: The UN Secretariat at the end of 2001 had a
staff of 15,287, including 1,852 Americans. (There was an additional
7,664 staff in peacekeeping operations, including 724 Americans.) UN
subsidiary bodies, specialized agencies, and the IAEA employ an additional
38,418 people, including 1,914 Americans.

The Secretariat is headed by the Secretary-General,
assisted by a staff of international civil servants worldwide. It provides
studies, information, and facilities needed by UN bodies for their meetings.
It also carries out tasks as directed by the Security Council, the General
Assembly, the Economic and Social Council, and other UN bodies. The
Charter provides that the staff be chosen by application of the "highest
standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity," with due regard
for the importance of recruiting on a wide geographical basis.

The Charter provides that the staff shall not seek
or receive instructions from any authority other than the UN. Each UN
member is enjoined to respect the international character of the Secretariat
and not seek to influence its staff. The Secretary-General alone is
responsible for staff selection.

The Secretary-General's duties include helping resolve
international disputes, administering peacekeeping operations, organizing
international conferences, gathering information on the implementation
of Security Council decisions, and consulting with member governments
regarding various initiatives. Key Secretariat offices in this area
include the Office of the Coordinator of Humanitarian Affairs and the
Department of Peacekeeping Operations. The Secretary-General may bring
to the attention of the Security Council any matter that, in his or
her opinion, may threaten international peace and security.

Trusteeship Council

In setting up an International Trusteeship System,
the UN Charter established the Trusteeship Council and assigned it the
task of supervising the administration of Trust Territories placed under
the System. Major goals were to promote the advancement of the inhabitants
of Trust Territories and their progressive development towards self-government
or independence. Those numerous territories--most of them former mandates
of the League of Nations or territories taken from enemy states at the
end of World War II--have all now attained self-government or independence,
either as separate nations or by joining neighboring independent countries.
The Trusteeship Council suspended operation on 1 November 1994, with
the independence of Palau, the last remaining United Nations trust territory,
on 1 October 1994.

The UN Family

In addition to the principal UN organs, the UN family
includes nearly 30 major programs or agencies. Some were in existence
before the UN was created and are related to it by agreement. Others
were established by the General Assembly. Each provides expertise in
a specific area. Those agencies include:

UN Children's Fund (UNICEF). Headquartered
in New York City, UNICEF provides long-term humanitarian and developmental
assistance to children and mothers in developing countries. A voluntarily
funded agency, UNICEF relies on contributions from governments and private
donors. Its programs emphasize developing community-level services to
promote the health and well being of children. UNICEF was awarded the
Nobel Peace Prize in 1965.

UN Development Program (UNDP). Headquartered
in New York City, UNDP and is the largest multilateral source of grant
technical assistance in the world. Voluntarily funded, it provides expert
advice, training, and limited equipment to developing countries, with
increasing emphasis on assistance to the poorest countries.

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Headquartered in Vienna, Austria, the IAEA seeks to promote the peaceful
use of nuclear energy and to inhibit its use for military purposes.
The IAEA's programs encourage the development of the peaceful application
of nuclear technology, provide international safeguards against its
misuse, and facilitate the application of safety measures in its use.
IAEA expanded its nuclear safety efforts in response to the Chernobyl
disaster in 1986.

World Food Program (WFP). Headquartered
in Rome, Italy, the WFP distributes food commodities to support development
projects, to long-term refugees and displaced persons, and as emergency
food assistance in situations of natural and man-made disasters. Development
projects now constitute less than 20% of WFP programs, as emergency
and protracted refugee situations result in increasing demands for WFP
programs and resources. WFP operates exclusively on contributions of
commodities and cash donated by governments.

Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Headquartered in Rome, Italy, FAO programs seek to raise levels of nutrition
and standards of living; to improve the production, processing, marketing,
and distribution of food and agricultural products; to promote rural
development; and, by these means, to eliminate hunger. FAO's efforts
to eliminate the Mediterranean fruit fly from the Caribbean Basin benefit
the U.S. citrus industry. Likewise, U.S. cattle raisers have a direct
stake in FAO efforts to eliminate a tick found in the Caribbean that
carries a threatening cattle disease.

World Health Organization (WHO). Headquartered
in Geneva, Switzerland, WHO acts as a coordinating authority on international
public health. After years of fighting smallpox, WHO declared in 1979
that the disease had been eradicated. It is nearing success in developing
vaccines against malaria and schistosomiasis and aims to eradicate polio
within the next few years.

Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR). Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, UNHCR protects and
supports refugees at the request of a government or the UN and assists
in their return or resettlement. UNHCR was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize
in 1954 and 1982.

Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human
Rights. At the urging of the U.S. and other nations, the General
Assembly established the Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights
in 1993. The High Commissioner's mandate includes promotion and protection
of human rights worldwide through direct contact with individual governments
and the provision of technical assistance where appropriate. Holding
the rank of Under Secretary General, the High Commissioner coordinates
human rights activities throughout the UN system and supervises the
UN Center for Human Rights in Geneva, Switzerland.

International Civil Aviation Organization
(ICAO). Headquartered in Montreal, Canada, ICAO develops the principles
and techniques of international air navigation and fosters the planning
and development of international air transport to ensure safe and orderly
growth. The ICAO Council adopts standards and recommended practices
concerning air navigation, prevention of unlawful interference, and
facilitation of border-crossing procedures for international civil aviation.
Standards developed by ICAO directly affect U.S. commercial air travel
and benefit U.S. industries, which supply the greatest share of aircraft
and equipment worldwide.

International Telecommunication Union (ITU). Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, ITU promotes the improvement of
telecommunication services worldwide. As the largest producer and supplier
of telecommunications equipment, the U.S. benefits from the technical
assistance extended to developing countries from agencies such as the
ITU.

International Maritime Organization (IMO). Headquartered in London, U.K., IMO promotes cooperation among governments
and the shipping industry to improve maritime safety and to prevent
marine pollution. Recent U.S. initiatives at IMO have included amendments
to the Safety of Life at Sea Convention, which upgraded fire protection
standards on passenger ships, and amendments to the Convention on the
Prevention of Maritime Pollution, which required double hulls on all
tankers. U.S. maritime interests benefit directly from IMO work on standardization,
safety, and ocean anti-pollution programs.

World Meteorological Organization (WMO). Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, WMO provides weather information
to a wide range of Americans, including farmers, mariners, aviators,
and travelers. Its work has significant economic and social impact on
the U.S.

International Labor Organization (ILO). Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, ILO seeks to strengthen worker
rights, improve working and living conditions, create employment, and
provide information and training opportunities. ILO programs include
the occupational safety and health hazard alert system and the labor
standards and human rights programs.

UN Environment Program (UNEP). Headquartered
in Nairobi, Kenya, UNEP coordinates UN environmental activities, assisting
developing countries in implementing environmentally sound policies.
UNEP has developed guidelines and treaties on issues such as the international
transport of potentially harmful chemicals, transboundary air pollution,
and contamination of international waterways.

History of the UN

The idea for the United Nations was elaborated in declarations
signed at the wartime Allied conferences in Moscow and Tehran in 1943.
President Franklin Roosevelt suggested the name "United Nations." From
August to October 1944, representatives of the U.S. U.K., France, U.S.S.R.,
and China met to elaborate the plans at the Dumbarton Oaks Estate in
Washington, D.C. Those and later talks produced proposals outlining
the purposes of the organization, its membership and organs, as well
as arrangements to maintain international peace and security and international
economic and social cooperation. These proposals were discussed and
debated by governments and private citizens worldwide.

On April 25, 1945, the United Nations Conference on
International Organizations began in San Francisco. The 50 nations represented
at the conference signed the Charter of the United Nations two months
later on June 26. Poland, which was not represented at the conference,
but for which a place among the original signatories had been reserved,
added its name later, bringing the total of original signatories to
51. The UN came into existence on October 24, 1945, after the Charter
had been ratified by the five permanent members of the Security Council-China,
France, U.S.S.R., U.K., and U.S.-and by a majority of the other 46 signatories.

The U.S. Senate, by a vote of 89 to 2, gave its consent
to the ratification of the UN Charter on July 28, 1945. In December
1945, the Senate and the House of Representatives, by unanimous votes,
requested that the UN make its headquarters in the U.S. The offer was
accepted and the UN headquarters building was constructed in New York
City in 1949 and 1950 beside the East River on donated land, which is
considered international territory. Under special agreement with the
U.S., certain diplomatic privileges and immunities have been granted,
but generally the laws of New York City, New York State, and the U.S.
apply.

UN membership is open to all "peace-loving states"
that accept the obligations of the UN Charter and, in the judgment of
the organization, are able and willing to fulfill these obligations.
The General Assembly determines admission upon recommendation of the
Security Council.

Preamble to Charter of the United
Nations

We the Peoples of the United Nations Determined

To Save succeeding generations from the scourge of
war, which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind,
and

To Reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the
dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and
women of nations large and small, and

To Establish conditions under which justice and respect
for the obligations arising from treaties and other sources of international
law can be maintained, and

To promote social progress and better standards of
life in larger freedom,

And for these ends

To Practice tolerance and live together in peace with
one another as good neighbors, and

To Unite our strength to maintain international peace
and security, and

To Ensure, by the acceptance of principles and the
institution of methods, that armed force shall not be used, save in
the common interest, and

To Employ international machinery for the promotion
of the economic and social advancement of all peoples,

Have resolved to combine our efforts to accomplish
these aims.

Accordingly, our respective Governments, through representatives
assembled in the city of San Francisco, who have exhibited their full
powers found to be in good and due form, have agreed to the present
Charter of the United Nations and do hereby establish an international
organization to be known as the United Nations.

Key Areas of Responsibility

Maintaining the Peace

The UN's role in international collective security
is defined by the UN Charter, which gives the Security Council the power
to:

Investigate any situation threatening international peace;

Recommend procedures for peaceful resolution of a dispute;

Call upon other member nations to completely or partially interrupt
economic relations as well as sea, air, postal, and radio communications,
or to sever diplomatic relations; and

Enforce its decisions militarily, if necessary.

The United Nations has helped prevent many outbreaks
of international violence from growing into wider conflicts. It has
opened the way to negotiated settlements through its service as a center
of debate and negotiation, as well as through UN-sponsored fact-finding
missions, mediators, and truce observers. UN peacekeeping forces, comprised
of troops and equipment supplied by member nations, have usually been
able to limit or prevent conflict. Some conflicts, however, have proven
to be beyond the capacity of the UN to influence. Key to the success
of UN peacekeeping efforts is the willingness of the parties to a conflict
to come to terms peacefully through a viable political process.

UN peacekeeping initiatives have ranged from small,
diplomatic or political delegations to large mobilizations, the most
extensive of which was the 500,000-strong 1950-53 defense of South Korea
against an attack by North Korea. In the first few years following the
end of the Cold War the number of peacekeeping operations increased
dramatically. The proliferation of operations reflected the view that,
in the post-Cold War era, the UN could play an important role in defusing
regional conflicts. Some of the peacekeeping operations of the early
1990s also saw an expansion of the traditional peacekeeping mandate
to include such responsibilities as supervising elections, monitoring
human rights, training police, and overseeing civil administration.

Facing increasing demands on peacekeeping resources,
the UN and member nations had to make difficult choices. In 1994 the
U. S. Government responded to the challenges posed by the growing number
and complexity of UN peacekeeping operations by implementing a policy
framework suited to the new environment. The new policy involved six
major areas of reform:

Improving how the U.S. decides which peace operations to support
and whether U.S. troops should take part;

Reducing both U.S. and overall costs for UN peace operations;

Reaffirming long-standing U.S. policy on command and control of
American military forces in UN operations;

Reforming UN management of those operations;

Improving the manner by which the U.S. funds and manages peace
operations; and

Improving the standard of consultations between the U.S. executive
branch and Congress on peace operations.

From 1995 to mid-1999 there was a sharp decline in
the number of UN peacekeepers in the field, from a high of around 70,000
to 12,000. The assumption by NATO of major peacekeeping responsibilities
in the former Yugoslavia (and the resultant termination of UNPROFOR's
mandate) accounted for much of the decrease. Other factors included
the closeout of UN operations in Mozambique in January 1995, Somalia
in March 1995, El Salvador in April 1995, and Rwanda in March 1996.
With the U.S. and the UN taking a much harder look at proposed peacekeeping
operations, the only major new UN mission set up in this period outside
the former Yugoslavia was the UNAVEM III operation in Angola.

Beginning in June 1999, new missions in Kosovo and
East Timor and expanded missions in Sierra Leone and the Congo dramatically
increased both the costs and personnel levels of UN peacekeeping operations.
They also added a new level of complexity to peacekeeping efforts, with
a greater emphasis on civilian administration in East Timor and Kosovo.
From July 1999 to June 2001, overall UN peacekeeping personnel levels
increased by 31,000, with even more personnel authorized but not deployed.

As of July 31, 2002, there were 691 U.S. personnel
(659 civilian police, and 32 military observers) in worldwide UN peace
operations, accounting for 1.5% of total UN peacekeepers. As Commander-in-Chief,
the President of the United States never gives up command authority
over U.S. troops. When large numbers of U.S. troops are involved and
when the risk of combat is high, operational control of U.S. forces
will remain in American hands, or in the hands of a trusted military
ally such as a NATO member. But the President must retain the flexibility,
which has served the U.S. well throughout its history, to allow temporary
foreign operational control of U.S. troops when it serves U.S. interests,
just as it has often served U.S. interests to have foreign forces under
U.S. operational control.

Arms Control and Disarmament

The 1945 UN Charter envisaged a system of regulation
that would ensure "the least diversion for armaments of the world's
human and economic resources." The advent of nuclear weapons came only
weeks after the signing of the Charter and provided immediate impetus
to concepts of arms limitation and disarmament. In fact, the first resolution
of the first meeting of the General Assembly (January 24, 1946) was
entitled "The Establishment of a Commission to Deal with the Problems
Raised by the Discovery of Atomic Energy" and called upon the commission
to make specific proposals for "the elimination from national armaments
of atomic weapons and of all other major weapons adaptable to mass destruction."

The UN has established several forums to address multilateral
disarmament issues. The principal ones are the First Committee of the
UN General Assembly and the UN Disarmament Commission. Items on the
agenda include consideration of the possible merits of a nuclear test
ban, outer-space arms control, efforts to ban chemical weapons, nuclear
and conventional disarmament, nuclear-weapon-free zones, reduction of
military budgets, and measures to strengthen international security.

The Conference on Disarmament is the sole forum established
by the international community for the negotiation of multilateral arms
control and disarmament agreements. It has 66 members representing all
areas of the world, including the five major nuclear-weapon states (China,
France, the Russian Federation, the U.K., and the U.S.). While the conference
is not formally a UN organization, it is linked to the UN through a
personal representative of the Secretary-General; this representative
serves as the secretary general of the conference. Resolutions adopted
by the General Assembly often request the conference to consider specific
disarmament matters. In turn, the conference annually reports on its
activities to the General Assembly.

Human Rights

The pursuit of human rights was one of the central
reasons for creating the United Nations. World War II atrocities and
genocide led to a ready consensus that the new organization must work
to prevent any similar tragedies in the future. An early objective was
creating a legal framework for considering and acting on complaints
about human rights violations.

The UN Charter obliges all member nations to promote
"universal respect for, and observance of, human rights" and to take
"joint and separate action" to that end. The Universal Declaration of
Human Rights, though not legally binding, was adopted by the General
Assembly in 1948 as a common standard of achievement for all. The General
Assembly regularly takes up human rights issues. The UN Human Rights
Commission (UNHRC), under ECOSOC, is the primary UN body charged with
promoting human rights, primarily through investigations and offers
of technical assistance. As discussed, the High Commissioner for Human
Rights is the official principally responsible for all UN human rights
activities (see, under "The UN Family," the section on "Office of the
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights").

The U.S. considers the United Nations to be a first
line of defense of the principles enshrined in the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights. It is also a means by which those principles can be
applied more broadly around the world. A case in point is support by
the United Nations for countries in transition to democracy. Technical
assistance in providing free and fair elections, improving judicial
structures, drafting constitutions, training human rights officials,
and transforming armed movements into political parties have contributed
significantly to democratization worldwide. The United Nations is also
a forum in which to support the right of women to participate fully
in the political, economic, and social life of their countries.

International Conferences

The member countries of the UN and its specialized
agencies--the "shareholders" of the system--give guidance and make decisions
on substantive and administrative issues in regular meetings held throughout
each year. Governing bodies made up of member states include not only
the General Assembly, ECOSOC, and the Security Council, but also counterpart
bodies dealing with the governance of all other UN system agencies.
For example, the World Health Assembly and the Executive Board oversee
the work of WHO. Each year, the U.S. Department of State accredits U.S.
delegations to more than 600 meetings of governing bodies.

When an issue is considered particularly important,
the General Assembly may convene an international conference to focus
global attention and build a consensus for consolidated action. High-level
U.S. delegations use these opportunities to promote U.S. policy viewpoints
and develop international agreements on future activities. Recent examples
include:

The UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), Rio
de Janeiro, Brazil, June 1992, led to the creation of the UN Commission
on Sustainable Development to advance the conclusions reached in
Agenda 21, the final text of agreements negotiated by governments
at UNCED;

The World Conference on Population and Development, Cairo, Egypt,
September 1994, approved a program of action to address the critical
challenges and interrelationships between population and sustainable
development over the next 20 years;

The World Summit on Trade Efficiency, Columbus, Ohio, October
1994, cosponsored by UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD),
the city of Columbus, and private-sector business, focused on the
use of modern information technology to expand international trade;

The World Summit for Social Development, Copenhagen, Denmark,
March 1995, underscored national responsibility for sustainable
development and secured high-level commitment to plans that invest
in basic education, health care, and economic opportunity for all,
including women and girls;

The Fourth World Conference on Women, Beijing, China, September
1995, sought to accelerate implementation of the historic agreements
reached at the Third World Conference, Nairobi, Kenya, 1985;

The Second UN Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II), Istanbul,
Turkey, June 1996, considered the challenges of human settlement
development and management in the 21st century; and

The UN Conference on Financing for Development, Monterrey, Mexico,
March 2002, broke new ground in development discussions with the
U.S. calling for a "new compact for development" defined by greater
accountability for rich and poor nations alike.

U.S. Participation in the UN

The U.S., as the world's leading political, economic,
and military power, has an especially strong interest in cooperating
with the multilateral system. The U.S. can pursue many of its interests
more effectively and with less risk through the UN than it can by acting
alone. Examples include: containing the spread of weapons of mass destruction;
enforcing sanctions on pariah states such as Iraq; protecting the environment;
and combating international crime, drug trafficking, and terrorism.

Engagement in the UN pays significant dividends to
Americans in the form of a safer, more prosperous world. The UN offers
a unique forum for advancing U.S. foreign policy objectives. As a permanent
member of the UN Security Council, the U.S. plays a leading role in
the UN's efforts to maintain international peace, promote democracy,
and defend human rights. UN peacekeeping gives the U.S. a way to protect
American interests in circumstances where either acting alone or doing
nothing is unacceptable. UN mediation and preventive diplomacy efforts
can provide an internationally acceptable setting in which nations can
move away from rigid negotiating positions and begin to seek solutions
to their problems.

The multilateral system also provides a powerful platform
for advancing U.S. values and ideals in such areas as human rights,
free trade, labor standards, and public health. UN programs also try
to meet humanitarian needs for those disadvantaged by circumstances
beyond their control. Private charitable agencies rely on the multiple
capacities of the UN system to develop the infrastructure and political
climate required for the success of such programs. UN activities such
as UNICEF, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, and the World Food
Program have made a remarkable impact on the lives of those most at
risk around the globe: children, women, and refugees.

UN programs serve U.S. objectives by promoting free-market
reform in the developing world. Those countries purchase more than one-third
of the goods and services exported by our nation. Supporting economic
development gives the U.S. more prosperous trading partners that are
better able to import U.S. goods and less likely to "export" their own
people to U.S. shores. To reduce global poverty, the UN attempts to
help developing nations meet basic human needs (clean water, food, shelter,
and health care) and other development goals.

In today's interdependent world, there is a clear need
for multilateral bodies to set regulatory standards and arbitrate differences
among countries in areas such as food product safety, air safety, telecommunications,
and copyrights. For example, the World Health Organization and the Food
and Agriculture Organization have set food product safety and quality
standards worldwide through a jointly sponsored trade standardization
program called "Codex Alimentarius." There are many direct benefits
to our participation in the multilateral system. For example, a large
part of U.S. financial contributions to the UN is returned to U.S. companies
through sales of equipment, supplies, and consulting services.

The U.S. cannot rely solely on bilateral relations
to advance U.S. foreign policy objectives but must take advantage of
our participation in the UN in order to influence other governments'
opinions and policies. Moreover, every dollar that we contribute to
UN activities is matched by $3 to $10 given by others. This advances
our interests while spreading the cost among other nations. It is important
that the UN operate efficiently and effectively. The U.S. seeks a UN
that both gets back to basics and is ready to meet the challenges of
the 21st century. U.S. efforts include:

Program Oversight--Following up on creation of the Office
of Internal Oversight Services at UN headquarters, the U.S. is working
to expand the inspector general concept to the UN's major specialized
agencies;

Reducing Bureaucracies--Important progress has been made
in streamlining the UN personnel system and holding the line on
budgets;

Improving Management--The U.S. applauds the initiatives
of Secretary General Annan in consolidating programs and implementing
a more transparent and consultative approach to management;

Security Council Reform--The U.S. supports permanent seats
on the Security Council for Japan and Germany and a modest further
enlargement of the Council to include permanent seats for developing
nations from Asia, Africa, and Latin America;

Improving Responsiveness--The U.S. seeks a UN able to respond
to humanitarian crises more rapidly and effectively;

Scale of Assessments--The U.S. has worked for a revision
of the scale of assessments to make it better reflect current global
circumstances.

The U.S. has welcomed the further initiative undertaken
by Secretary-General Annan in July 1997 in putting forward specific
reform proposals for member state consideration. These proposals closely
parallel recommendations that the U.S. has made, and the U.S. is working
for the adoption of most of them as early as possible.

The UN system is financed in two ways: assessed and
voluntary contributions from member states. The regular two-year budgets
of the UN and its specialized agencies are funded by assessments. In
the case of the UN, the General Assembly approves the regular budget
and determines the assessment for each member. This is broadly based
on the relative capacity of each country to pay, as measured by national
income statistics, along with other factors.

The General Assembly has established the principle
that the UN should not be overly dependent on any one member to finance
its operations. Thus, there is a "ceiling" rate, setting the maximum
amount any member is assessed for the regular budget. In December 2000,
the Assembly agreed to revise the scale of assessments to make them
better reflect current global circumstances.

As part of that agreement, the regular budget ceiling
was reduced from 25 to 22 percent; this is the rate at which the U.S.
is assessed. The U.S. is the only member that pays this rate; all other
members’ assessment rates are lower. Under the scale of assessments
adopted in 2000, other major contributors to the regular UN budget for
2001 are Japan (19.6%), Germany (9.8%), France (6.5%), the U.K. (5.6%),
Italy (5.1%), Canada (2.6%) and Spain (2.5%).

Special UN programs not included in the regular budget--such
as UNICEF, UNDP, UNHCR, and WFP--are financed by voluntary contributions
from member governments. In 2002, it is estimated that such contributions
from the USG will total approximately $1.6 billion. Much of this is
in the form of agricultural commodities donated for afflicted populations,
but the majority is financial contributions.

U.S. Arrears

The reduction in the assessment rate ceiling was among
the reforms contained in 1999’s Helms-Biden legislation, which links
payment of $926 million in U.S. arrears to the UN and other international
organizations to a series of reform benchmarks. At the end of 2001,
U.S. arrears to the UN amounted to $871 million. Of this, $171 million
is payable under Helms-Biden and other appropriated funds. The remaining
$700 million result from various legislative and policy withholdings;
there are no current plans to pay these amounts.

Under Helms-Biden, the U.S. paid $100 million in arrears
to the UN in December 1999 and $582 million in 2001. Of the final $244
million under Helms-Biden, $30 million is payable to the UN and $214
million to other international organizations. We also seek elimination
of the legislated 25 percent cap on U.S. peacekeeping payments in effect
since 1995, which continues to generate additional UN arrears.

UN peace operations are funded by assessments, using
a formula derived from the regular scale, but including a surcharge
for the five permanent members of the Security Council (who must approve
all peacekeeping operations); this surcharge serves to offset discounted
peacekeeping assessment rates for less developed countries. In December
2000, the UN revised the assessment rate scale for the regular budget
and for peacekeeping. The peacekeeping scale is designed to be revised
every six months and is projected to be near 27 percent in 2003. The
U.S. Administration intends to pay peacekeeping assessments at these
lower rates and has sought legislation from the U.S. Congress to allow
payment at these rates and to make payments towards arrears.

Total UN peacekeeping expenses peaked between 1994
and 1995; at the end of 1995 the total cost was just over $3.5 billion.
Total UN peacekeeping costs for 2000, including operations funded from
the UN regular budget as well as the peacekeeping budget, were on the
order of $2.2 billion. For 2001, peacekeeping costs are expected to
total about 3.5 billion, the increase largely attributed to expanded
missions in Sierra Leone and the Congo and newer missions in Kosovo
and East Timor.

U.S. Representation

The U.S. Permanent Mission to the UN in New York is
headed by the U.S. Representative
to the UN, with the rank of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary.
The mission serves as the channel of communication for the U.S. Government
with the UN organs, agencies, and commissions at the UN headquarters
and with the other permanent missions accredited to the UN and the non-member
observer missions. The U.S. mission has a professional staff made up
largely of career Foreign Service officers, including specialists in
political, economic, social, financial, legal, and military issues.

The U.S. also maintains missions to international organizations
in Geneva, Rome, Vienna, Nairobi, Montreal, London, and Paris. These
missions report to the Department of State and receive guidance on questions
of policy from the President, through the Secretary of State. Relations
with the UN and its family of agencies are coordinated by the Assistant
Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs.

The U.S. Mission to the United Nations is located at
799 United Nations Plaza, New York, NY 10017 (tel. 212-415-4000).